Are you a blogger? Or are you thinking to start a blog? If the answer is yes, you can get some valuable information that I have learned from my blogging experience. I am not an old and experienced blogger yet, but I have got something about blogging and related platform from my blogging experience.
There are lots of sites which offer to create free blogs. Weebly, Wix, Google's Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr are few of them. WordPress and Blogger are leading blogging platforms. I have already used WordPress, Weebly, Wix, and Blogger to create the free blogs. However, free platforms on Weebly, Wix, and WordPress did not provide me enough of the services as Blogger does. But the blog on self-hosted WordPress (wordpress.org) was really awesome as it provided me enough of controls and services, but unfortunately, I discontinued that blog because of some issues. I have not tested paid services on other platforms yet, but in my way of thinking, they are not so bad either.
If you are exclusively new to blogging, I recommend you to use Google's Blogger as it is easy, fast and secure. If you don't want to continue with Blogger, you can migrate to self-hosted WordPress later. Despite some limitations in blogger, you can do the bulk of activities without the knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, CSS and many other web related programs.
There are lots of sites which offer to create free blogs. Weebly, Wix, Google's Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr are few of them. WordPress and Blogger are leading blogging platforms. I have already used WordPress, Weebly, Wix, and Blogger to create the free blogs. However, free platforms on Weebly, Wix, and WordPress did not provide me enough of the services as Blogger does. But the blog on self-hosted WordPress (wordpress.org) was really awesome as it provided me enough of controls and services, but unfortunately, I discontinued that blog because of some issues. I have not tested paid services on other platforms yet, but in my way of thinking, they are not so bad either.
If you are exclusively new to blogging, I recommend you to use Google's Blogger as it is easy, fast and secure. If you don't want to continue with Blogger, you can migrate to self-hosted WordPress later. Despite some limitations in blogger, you can do the bulk of activities without the knowledge of HTML, JavaScript, CSS and many other web related programs.
Advantages of using Blogger
1. Creating post is easy
Creating posts on Blogger is easy, just like posting Facebook status or just like posting tweets on Twitter (it is not the right place to upload selfies only, isn't it?), no web knowledge is needed. It also facilitates creating posts with HTML. More advanced and eye-catching post can be created using HTML option. Blogger provides almost all of the formatting options that the other platforms provide.Also read: How to write a blog post? (For non-native Englishers)
2. Free Hosting
Photos and videos can be embedded in the posts from own computer or from external sites. Uploaded photos are hosted on Google Photos (Previously Picasa) without any cost. Videos can be uploaded from own computer or can be linked to the YouTube videos. One of the best advantages of using Blogger is its free hosting service. You don't have to pay any additional money to purchase this service.Related: Get free images for your blog via Pixabay
3. Security
 |
| via |
Creating blogs on other paid platforms may be vulnerable if the proper security option is not taken into consideration.
4. Static Pages
Along with creating a post, static pages can also be created. What are static pages? Static pages are similar to the posts, however, they can be created to place some static contents (that is, they are not updated time and again). There is a separate option to create those pages. You can use it to include some static contents such as Privacy Policy, Terms of services, About etc.5. Categorization
Blogger lets you categorize your blog posts with the labels. Multiple posts having the same niche can be categorized into one label.These labels can be used to create a categorized navigation menu. Note: Label is the category on Blogger, some other platforms (WordPress, Weebly) calls it 'Category'.6. Design
There are many customizable templates to pick through. These templates/themes can be customized to the next level so as to make the blog unique and stunning. Blogger provides a total of 11 official templates. Blogger's latest update has added four new themes, namely; Contempo, Soho, Emporio, and Notable. All of the provided themes are mobile responsive that fits on every mobile device.
You can even use external themes created by you yourself or created by other many websites which offer several high-quality themes without any cost. But freely provided themes may lack certain features, you can pay a little to purchase the full version. If you are a tech geek, you can create your template yourself without any limitations.
Also read: How to design a personal blog logo?
Also Read: Improve your Blogspot blog SEO like never before
The advantages listed above are simply a bird's eye view on blogger. There are lots of other features provided by Blogger such as easy Google AdSense, Easy layout option, Easy AdWords, unlimited widgets, direct HTML edit etc. All the options are placed in easy to understand manner. So everyone, even newbies, can understand all the services served by Blogger.
Many bloggers had an issue that Google deleted their blog without notice. This may be true cos' Google is strict on its policy. You can read the Blogger Content Policy here. I have been reading many Blogger-powered legal blogs for 5 years now, they are still the same - my source of inspiration. If you do not violate the content policies, your blog is safe from deletion.
Finally, neglecting few limitations, it can be concluded that Blogger is the best platform to create free blogs. If you have not one, you can start a free blog on Blogger right away. You can see Rajsapkota.com is also powered by Blogger.
Do you use Blogger? How is your experience using it? Let me know from the comment section below.
You can even use external themes created by you yourself or created by other many websites which offer several high-quality themes without any cost. But freely provided themes may lack certain features, you can pay a little to purchase the full version. If you are a tech geek, you can create your template yourself without any limitations.
Also read: How to design a personal blog logo?
7. Blogger already premium
Another best advantage of using Blogger is: It is completely free as already mentioned. It doesn't ask you some dollars to upgrade the blog or to utilize full services whatsoever. I have seen that many other blogging platforms demand dollars to use certain features. So, in my points of view, everything about Blogger is already premium.8. Free Blogspot domain
Blogger provides free 'blogspot.com' domain name. Similar to Blogger, other free platforms also let us use their sub-domain freely. So, free sub-domain is not a unique service of the Blogger. However, if needed, a custom domain can be set up on the blog without the cost of domain mapping. Purchasing a domain name costs around 12$ per year or it may cost in accordance with the domain name purchased or according to the domain registrar. Luckily, if you are a Nepali citizen, Mercantile Communication provides lifetime free .np ccTLD domain.9. SEO
Another advantage of using Blogger is easy Google SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Almost all SEO services served by Google can be reached under 'Setting' option. SEO includes robot.txt, robot tags, Google search console, Google analytics etc. However, SEO controls provided on Blogger are not comparable to self-hosted WordPress platform.Also Read: Improve your Blogspot blog SEO like never before
10. Blog Stats
Blog stats can be examined with complete details. With the complete utilization of this feature, you can know which posts and pages of your blog are viral that helps you to identify the visitor's interest in your blog. Not only this, Blog stats also provide the keywords and referring sites where the traffic is coming from. You can further examine your audience interests by using Google Analytics.The advantages listed above are simply a bird's eye view on blogger. There are lots of other features provided by Blogger such as easy Google AdSense, Easy layout option, Easy AdWords, unlimited widgets, direct HTML edit etc. All the options are placed in easy to understand manner. So everyone, even newbies, can understand all the services served by Blogger.
Verdict
Blogger is the best place to learn the basics of blogging. Although Blogger can handle complex blogs too, the control options are very limited. So, many bloggers move to the self-hosted WordPress platform after a few months of blogging on Blogger. Also, your blog on Blogger is not completely yours, that is, Google owns your blog.Many bloggers had an issue that Google deleted their blog without notice. This may be true cos' Google is strict on its policy. You can read the Blogger Content Policy here. I have been reading many Blogger-powered legal blogs for 5 years now, they are still the same - my source of inspiration. If you do not violate the content policies, your blog is safe from deletion.
Finally, neglecting few limitations, it can be concluded that Blogger is the best platform to create free blogs. If you have not one, you can start a free blog on Blogger right away. You can see Rajsapkota.com is also powered by Blogger.
Do you use Blogger? How is your experience using it? Let me know from the comment section below.
No comments:
Write commentsFeel free to comment your views. Hope you won't post any spams.